Where We'll Be

30 Jul: Our 19th Cutter IT E-mail Advisor: Cultivation

13 Oct: We've been selected to present 2 papers at the Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference

Where We've Been

Subscribe to the Compendium:

by e-mail or

RSS Feed:

Clarrus proudly sponsors VanQ

What's New

6 Jul: Compendium 7.27: All That Jazz

29 Jun: Compendium 7.26: Faith in the Process

22 Jun: Compendium 7.25: Pet Tricks

Software Teamwork
Articles
Business Tips
People Tips
Process Tips
PM Tips
QA, Test, CM Tips
Analysis, Design Tips
Compendium Archives
Recommended Books

Compendium Archives

Here's all the previous issues of the Clarrus Compendium, in reverse chronological order...

Volume 7: 2008

[7.27] All That Jazz (6 Jul)
[7.26] Faith in the Process (29 Jun)
[7.25] Pet Tricks (22 Jun)
[7.24] Off the Beaten Path (15 Jun)
[7.23] Administrative Reporting (8 Jun)
[7.22] Refine the Messaging Platform (1 Jun)
[7.21] Beyond an Exercise (25 May)
[7.20] Go With Your Strength (18 May)
[7.19] Teaching Software Process (11 May)
[7.18] Is It Worth Not Doing It? (4 May)
[7.17] Why Wait for Value? (27 Apr)
[7.16] Testing That Team Agreement (20 Apr)
[7.15] Consulted (13 Apr)
[7.14] WTD (6 Apr)
[7.13] Overcoming Resistance (30 Mar)
[7.12] Core Change Principles (23 Mar)
[7.11] Shirking Responsibility (16 Mar)
[7.10] Trust Proxies (9 Mar)
[7.9] Evolving Our System (2 Mar)
[7.8] A Soft Skills Business Case (24 Feb)
[7.7] Find, Hire, Grow and Keep (17 Feb)
[7.6] Lifecycle Selection vs. Effectiveness (10 Feb)
[7.5] What To Do... (3 Feb)
[7.4] What's in a Name? (27 Jan)
[7.3] DIY (20 Jan)
[7.2] Choosing Approaches Below the Project Level (13 Jan)
[7.1] Context is the Only Absolute (6 Jan)

Volume 6: 2007

[6.52] Followers (30 Dec)
[6.51] Actually, It IS All About You (23 Dec)
[6.50] Birthing the Spec (16 Dec)
[6.49] Disassembling the Nokia Test (9 Dec)
[6.48] Cultural Vital Signs (2 Dec)
[6.47] Filling the Toolbox (25 Nov)
[6.46] Twenty Questions (18 Nov)
[6.45] Recognizing the Structure of Power (11 Nov)
[6.44] The Complexity of Change (4 Nov)
[6.43] Engagement Beats Handoff and Jargon (28 Oct)
[6.42] A Consistent Approach, Where Needed (21 Oct)
[6.41] Industry Evolution (14 Oct)
[6.40] Focus on the Interfaces (7 Oct)
[6.39] Repairing the Fixed Price Model (30 Sep)
[6.38] A Matter of Perspective (23 Sep)
[6.37] Fine Wine or Crusty Loaf? (16 Sep)
[6.36] Selling (9 Sep)
[6.35] Being Operated On (2 Sep)
[6.34] Quality Specification (26 Aug)
[6.33] Quality Translation (19 Aug)
[6.32] Quality Prioritization (12 Aug)
[6.31] Quality Taxonomies (5 Aug)
[6.30] Harnessing Down Time (29 Jul)
[6.29] Judgment (22 Jul)
[6.28] Planning Cycles, Thinking Rhythms (15 Jul)
[6.27] The Truth About Best Practices (8 Jul)
[6.26] Candor (1 Jul)
[6.25] Planning to Build vs. Building the Plan (24 Jun)
[6.24] Deciding to be Agile - or Not (17 Jun)
[6.23] Unintentionally Non-Profit (10 Jun)
[6.22] Why I Write (3 Jun)
[6.21] A Question of Timing (27 May)
[6.20] No Problem! (20 May)
[6.19] Erosion (13 May)
[6.18] Idiot Lights (6 May)
[6.17] Practicing Safe PM (29 Apr)
[6.16] Zero-Sum Lunacy (22 Apr)
[6.15] Decisions Not Made (15 Apr)
[6.14] No Apparent Problem To No Actual Problem (8 Apr)
[6.13] Labour Shortage, or Underfostered Talent? (1 Apr)
[6.12] How Much is Enough? (25 Mar)
[6.11] Technological Heart Attack (18 Mar)
[6.10] Validate Your_Assumptions (11 Mar)
[6.9] Use the Force (4 Mar)
[6.8] Cultivation (25 Feb)
[6.7] Completing a Project (18 Feb)
[6.6] Fostering a Project Along (11 Feb)
[6.5] Shaping Your Projects (4 Feb)
[6.4] Another Set of Eyes (28 Jan)
[6.3] You Can Estimate Anything! (21 Jan)
[6.2] Getting in the Groove (14 Jan)
[6.1] The Procedures That Ate Manhattan (7 Jan)

Volume 5: 2006

[5.53] Resolutions (31 Dec)

[5.52] How Do I Know? (24 Dec)

[5.51] Debate Without Dialogue Sucks (17 Dec)

[5.50] Curiosity (10 Dec)

[5.49] Inconspicuous Consumption (3 Dec)

[5.48] Descent onto Conflict (26 Nov)

[5.47] Hope and Fear, but Mostly Fear (19 Nov)

[5.46] Home Handyman Syndrome (12 Nov)

[5.45] The Case for Alternatives to Use Cases (5 Nov)

[5.44] Greasing the Wheels (29 Oct)

[5.43] Lost in Translation (22 Oct)

[5.42] Exposing Our Motives (15 Oct)

[5.41] Putting a Finger on Rework (8 Oct)

[5.40] The Conscious Team Contract (1 Oct)

[5.39] Forging Ahead (24 Sep)

[5.38] Data Integrity (17 Sep)

[5.37] Trust (10 Sep)

[5.36] Emotions (3 Sep)

[5.35] Divide and Conquer (27 Aug)

[5.34] Teamwork (20 Aug)

[5.33] Make Yourself At Home (13 Aug)

[5.32] Out With the Old... (6 Aug)

[5.31] Structured Debate (30 Jul)

[5.30] Comfortable Communication (23 Jul)

[5.29] Just an Employee? (16 Jul)

[5.28] The Big Picture (9 Jul)

[5.27] It Takes All Kinds (2 Jul)

[5.26] Games People Play (25 Jun)

[5.25] Stepping Up (18 Jun)

[5.24] Outsourcing Quality (11 Jun)

[5.23] Keep It Real (4 Jun)

[5.22] Process Ergonomics (28 May)

[5.21] Is Geek the New Black? (21 May)

[5.20] Backsliding (14 May)

[5.19] Pressure (7 May)

[5.18] Measuring as a Necessary Evil (30 Apr)

[5.17] Tangibility (23 Apr)

[5.16] The Way Things Are Done (16 Apr)

[5.15] Enthusiasm (9 Apr)

[5.14] Size Doesn't Matter (2 Apr)

[5.13] Decoupling Projects (26 Mar)

[5.12] Being Reasonably Self-Critical (19 Mar)

[5.11] The Dark Side of Spontaneity (12 Mar)

[5.10] Oh Please! Credit Where Credit is Due (5 Mar)

[5.9] Mental Models (26 Feb)

[5.8] Sustainability (19 Feb)

[5.7] Critical Introspection (12 Feb)

[5.6] Rigid Agility? (5 Feb)

[5.5] Reference Points (29 Jan)

[5.4] Growing the Team (22 Jan)

[5.3] Neglect (15 Jan)

[5.2] Client Satisfaction (8 Jan)

[5.1] Just One More (1 Jan)

Volume 4: 2005

[4.52] Quality Circle Genealogy (25 Dec)

[4.51] Designing Our Environment (18 Dec)

[4.50] Rules (11 Dec)

[4.49] Demonizing Mistakes (4 Dec)

[4.48] Appropriate Procedures (27 Nov)

[4.47] Minimizing Disruption (20 Nov)

[4.46] Follow-through (13 Nov)

[4.45] Design as Translation (6 Nov)

[4.44] Raising Awareness (30 Oct)

[4.43] We're All Leaders (23 Oct)

[4.42] Tar Pits or Tar Sands? (16 Oct)

[4.41] Done (9 Oct)

[4.40] You Are What You Eat (2 Oct)

[4.39] Role-based Tool Support (25 Sep)

[4.38] Everything in Its Place (18 Sep)

[4.37] Decisions (11 Sep)

[4.36] Denial (4 Sep)

[4.35] Volatility Demands Versatility (28 Aug)

[4.34] Technological Advances? (21 Aug)

[4.33] Leveling and Prioritizing Scope (14 Aug)

[4.32] Small, Measured Steps (7 Aug)

[4.31] Full Disclosure (31 Jul)

[4.30] Blinkers (24 Jul)

[4.29] Post It! (17 Jul)

[4.28] Checklists and Signatures (10 Jul)

[4.27] Becoming the Distant Customer (3 Jul)

[4.26] Carrots and Sticks (26 Jun)

[4.25] Knowledge Decay (19 Jun)

[4.24] Revelations Through Time Dilation (12 Jun)

[4.23] We All Have an Achilles' Heel (5 Jun)

[4.22] The End User's Advocate (29 May)

[4.21] Clarity and Common Understanding (22 May)

[4.20] Attitudes (15 May)

[4.19] Shortcuts (8 May)

[4.18] Negotiating or Grinding Down? (1 May)

[4.17] House of Cards (24 Apr)

[4.16] Tactical and Strategic Metrics (17 Apr)

[4.15] Different Perspectives are Necessary (10 Apr)

[4.14] Choice as a Motivator (3 Apr)

[4.13] Patient Team Building (27 Mar)

[4.12] Making the Rules (20 Mar)

[4.11] Getting Started With the Right Foot Forward (13 Mar)

[4.10] The Ease of Obliviousness (6 Mar)

[4.9] GUI Design is a Requirements Activity (27 Feb)

[4.8] Not Too Big, Not Too Small (20 Feb)

[4.7] Technical Ransom (13 Feb)

[4.6] Thinking About Thinking (6 Feb)

[4.5] Not Nearly Juggling (30 Jan)

[4.4] Reading the Fine Print for Packaged Methodologies (23 Jan)

[4.3] Requirements Management - a Best Practice Gone Missing! (16 Jan)

[4.2] Tying Process to Reality (9 Jan)

[4.1] Software Project People Problems are Insignificant (2 Jan)

Volume 3: 2004

[3.52] Stepping Back to Smell the Roses (26 Dec)

[3.51] No News is Actually Bad News (19 Dec)

[3.50] Touching the Void of Improvement (12 Dec)

[3.49] Keeping One Step Ahead (5 Dec)

[3.48] Satanic Verses (28 Nov)

[3.47] Accountability and Accounting: the Power in Knowing Where You've Been (21 Nov)

[3.46] Aligning the Troops (14 Nov)

[3.45] Using Project Postmortems to Avoid Bruised Forehead Syndrome (7 Nov)

[3.44] What Were We Thinking? CM as a Memory Jogger (31 Oct)

[3.43] The Cone of Specification (24 Oct)

[3.42] But We Aren't That Big! (17 Oct)

[3.41] Leadership Through Leverage - Extending the Stuff that Works (10 Oct)

[3.40] Navel Gazing as Business Strategy (3 Oct)

[3.39] Optimizing for Speed (26 Sep)

[3.38] Quality is Your Job (19 Sep)

[3.37] Accidental Specification (12 Sep)

[3.36] Defined Approach or Work of Fantasy? (5 Sep)

[3.35] Carpe Diem (29 Aug)

[3.34] Defining Success (22 Aug)

[3.33] Are You Managing or Parenting? (15 Aug)

[3.32] Meaningful Measures (8 Aug)

[3.31] How Much is Enough? (1 Aug)

[3.30] Off the Happy Path (25 Jul)

[3.29] Know Thyself (18 Jul)

[3.28] Business Infrastructure (11 Jul)

[3.27] Three Key Roles (4 Jul)

[3.26] Quality of Life (27 Jun)

[3.25] The Slippery Slope (20 Jun)

[3.24] Process Architecture (13 Jun)

[3.23] Expectations (6 Jun)

[3.22] Risky Business (30 May)

[3.21] Is This a Process Project? (23 May)

[3.20] Are You Sure You Want Quality? (16 May)

[3.19] Up Front or As You Go? (9 May)

[3.18] Guidance Over Prescription (2 May)

[3.17] Job Security (25 Apr)

[3.16] Goals and Mandates (18 Apr)

[3.15] Getting Past the Hype (11 Apr)

[3.14] Product, Process, People (4 Apr)

[3.13] Juggling Priorities (28 Mar)

[3.12] Industrial Strength Software (21 Mar)

[3.11] Making Your Point (14 Mar)

[3.10] Getting Burned (7 Mar)

[3.9] Opportunity Knocks (29 Feb)

[3.8] Data Quality (22 Feb)

[3.7] Designed Testability (15 Feb)

[3.6] Where Does It Hurt? (8 Feb)

[3.5] Motives (1 Feb)

[3.4] Getting the Right Support (25 Jan)

[3.3] When Things Go Wrong (18 Jan)

[3.2] A Good Auditor is Your Friend (11 Jan)

[3.1] Design for the Ages (4 Jan)

Volume 2: 2003

[2.52] Not a Panacea (28 Dec)

[2.51] Respect (21 Dec)

[2.50] Difficultware (14 Dec)

[2.49] Critical with a Capital C (7 Dec)

[2.48] Check Out, Check In (30 Nov)

[2.47] Who's Our Customer? (23 Nov)

[2.46] Managing Change Management (16 Nov)

[2.45] Tackling Hard Problems (9 Nov)

[2.44] Outsourcing (2 Nov)

[2.43] Delusional Estimation (26 Oct)

[2.42] Near Early Warning (19 Oct)

[2.41] Building an AMO (12 Oct)

[2.40] The Right Approach (5 Oct)

[2.39] Rumour and Innuendo (28 Sep)

[2.38] Aligning Priorities to Strengths (21 Sep)

[2.37] Don't Try This at Home (14 Sep)

[2.36] The Audit Game (7 Sep)

[2.35] Thorough Design (31 Aug)

[2.34] Pick a Number (24 Aug)

[2.33] A Good Mix for Training (17 Aug)

[2.32] In Support of Perseverance (10 Aug)

[2.31] Governance (3 Aug)

[2.30] A Predecessor to QA (27 Jul)

[2.29] Avoiding Evolutionary Complexity (20 Jul)

[2.28] What Does Document Signoff Mean? (13 Jul)

[2.27] Recharging the Batteries (6 Jul)

[2.26] Complacency (29 Jun)

[2.25] Managing with an Open Book (22 Jun)

[2.24] Laziness or Focused Creativity? (15 Jun)

[2.23] It's Never Too Late (8 Jun)

[2.22] Software Evolution (1 Jun)

[2.21] Gamblers and Risk-takers (25 May)

[2.20] Owning Your Future (18 May)

[2.19] Hunting the Elusive Defendable Estimate (11 May)

[2.18] Are You Really Covered? (4 May)

[2.17] Strategize Before Prioritizing (27 Apr)

[2.16] Software Hygiene (20 Apr)

[2.15] Balance With a Human Touch (13 Apr)

[2.14] Heed the Standard Disclaimer (6 Apr)

[2.13] Knowing When to Quit (30 Mar)

[2.12] Debugging via the Scientific Method (23 Mar)

[2.11] Taking Inefficiency to New Heights (16 Mar)

[2.10] Walking the Team Walk (9 Mar)

[2.9] The Inertia Against Taking the Proper Steps (2 Mar)

[2.8] Corporate Vital Statistics (23 Feb)

[2.7] Clearing Roadblocks, or Blocking Clear Roads? (16 Feb)

[2.6] Deciding How to Test Early, Twice (9 Feb)

[2.5] All You Need is Communication (2 Feb)

[2.4] Directed Versatility (26 Jan)

[2.3] Unifying a Great Team (19 Jan)

[2.2] Driving the Expectations Bus (12 Jan)

[2.1] Persistent Consistency (5 Jan)

Volume 1: 2002

[1.16] Clearly Specifying Quality (29 Dec)
[1.15] What's Important? (22 Dec)
[1.14] Scaling Up and Scaling Down (15 Dec)
[1.13] Taking Ownership for Success (8 Dec)
[1.12] Steady Focus at a Higher Level (1 Dec)
[1.11] Getting It Straight: From the Horse's Mouth (24 Nov)
[1.10] Cause...long pause...Effect (17 Nov)
[1.9] Explicit Completion Criteria - Defining the Term 'Done' (10 Nov)
[1.8] What Are People Like in This Town? (3 Nov)
[1.7] The Cost of Delaying Cleanup (27 Oct)
[1.6] Categorizing the Future (20 Oct)
[1.5] Doing Things Right vs. Doing the Right Things (13 Oct)
[1.4] Documentation and Common Knowledge (6 Oct)
[1.3] Realistic Planning: Planning for Change (29 Sep)
[1.2] Cowboys and Unsung Heroes (22 Sep)
[1.1] Real Design Issues: Diversification and Convergence (15 Sep)

Copyright Notice

All information and articles on this website are Copyright © 2002-2008 Clarrus Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Information may be reused in its entirety with permission and appropriate attribution to the author and Clarrus Consulting Group Inc.

Home | Up | Contact | Privacy Policy

Send comments about this web site to webmaster@clarrus.com
Copyright © 2002-2008 Clarrus Consulting Group Inc
Page last modified 22 Jul 2008